I've been pinning a lot on Pinterest these days. You, too? With Christmas coming soon and a wedding to plan, the ideas are flowing and I love what I can grab there.

But I'm a little troubled by something I keep seeing pop up on my feed, too. Seems there are so many pinnable images pointing to hundreds of "how-to" pages, and while that's a good thing, something is setting crooked about it on my heart.

So many of the how-to's I'm seeing tell us ways to teach our kids gratitude, make our kids better servants, and be a more loving mom. And there's the problem.

Our children won't have grateful hearts because we followed an 8-point outline on a blog. They won't be better servants of others simply because I made them help clean the kitchen after dinner or took them with me to serve a family in need. I can model these things, but I cannot make my kids be anything. Heck, I can't be a more loving mom myself just because I've smiled at them more and helped them with their schoolwork. Love flows from the inside out, which means I need to back up to see it's source.

To find the origin of anything I do, I have to ask myself where my identity lies, because everything flows from the source of where we find our identity, value, purpose, worth, and significance. Everything. If I am grateful, my kids will see my gratitude. But my gratitude is a gorgeous piece of fruit blossomed out of a heart so filled up with the grace and love of God because of what He has done for me that I can't help but see the gift in everything I've been given.

My love for my children is the happy result of God's love for me. Because He's lavished His love on me, I can lavish my love on them.

I've picked up some good ideas from those little pins on Pinterest, and I'm sure I'll enjoy doing some of the activities suggested. But let's just remember that Jesus is the only one who will change a heart of stone and make us all like Him.

The primary theme of our parenting isn't morality, good manners, or positive character traits. It must be Jesus Christ and what He has already done. That is what makes it Christian. ~ Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson, Give Them Grace